Certain types of analog computers are equipped with removable patch panels that facilitate the quick formation of electric circuits in the computer, as necessary to enable the computer to solve problems or equations. Each patch panel is a flat rectangular dielectric unit having a width of about twenty four inches and a length of about thirty inches; it is provided with a large number of small closely-spaced holes sized to receive pin-like terminations on external flexible cables. A representative patch panel has in excess of five hundred circuit holes, each about one quarter inch in diameter; the holes are arranged in rows and columns according to the electrical function of the registering computer circuitry behind the panel. Hole-to-hole spacing is about one quarter inch.
To form problem-solving circuits in the computer it is usually best to patch or build up the cable connections on the patch panel, with the panel removed from the computer. In this way the computer is put to work solving one problem while an otherwise unused patch panel is being wired up for later insertion onto the computer to solve a second problem. The aim is to keep the computer in continuous operation without down time for wiring the patch panel. In the usual mode of operation the patch panel is placed in a prone horizontal position on a desk or workbench. However, it is then difficult for the technician to clearly see the small circuit holes and distinguish one hole from another. The close spacing of the holes leads to hole selection errors, especially after the face of the panel has become obscured by cables plugged onto the panel. Occasionally such errors in hole selection go unnoticed even after the wired-up panel has been installed onto the front face of the computer; in such situations the computer may spend valuable time in unsuccessful attempts to solve the intended equation; computer readout may be incorrect or useless. It is then necessary to remove the cables from the panel and start the panel patching or wiring process again.
The present invention is directed to a cabinet having special utility for supporting a patch panel in a sloped or inclined angle, whereby the technician is able to more readily view the relatively small circuit holes. Another aim is to provide a cabinet that includes three open-topped rectangular trays arranged in front of and alongside the supported patch panel, each of the trays being adapted to store or house a relatively large quantity of cables used in the panel-wiring operation. The trays may be internally partitioned to form chambers of selected lengths, pre-determined according to the different standard commercially-available cable lengths. The tray arrangement and sizing enables the technician to have ready access to a variety of different length cables, as necessary to make any specific hole-to-hole circuit connection, as short as two or three inches or as long as twenty four inches. As the technician becomes familiar with the locational placement of the compartments or trays he/she is able to quickly make the cable length selection without actually looking away from the panel. In this way the technician is able to maintain concentration on the correct (selected) holes until the cable pin terminations are actually in the selected circuit holes. Preferably the technician will be able to utilize the shortest length cable for each hole-to-hole connection, thereby minimizing the maze of wiring that tends to obscure hole locations during the wiring process. A general aim of our invention is to provide a cabinet structure usable to support a patch panel in an easily viewed position close to a supply to various length cables, whereby the programmer is able to build up a circuit system more quickly and with a greater assurance that the circuit will in fact correspond to what is required to provide the desired program.